The Impact of Physical Literacy: how PE is proven to improve performance on and off the pitch

Far extending the need to tackle the childhood obesity epidemic, the holistic development of pupils has no better place to thrive than in PE lessons where teamwork, leadership, negotiation, strategy, success and overcoming failure a.k.a. life’s toolkit, can be tried and tested without limit. Why it has taken until 2016 for the government’s All Party Parliamentary Group to wake up and realise that PE needs to “…have the same status, credibility and funding as the core academic subjects….” is beyond belief but at last it seems they are addressing the big gap in primary education, paying attention to an individual pupil’s physical development with the same value as their academic progress. In fact, now is the time for educationalists to consider that omitting to ensure a child has developed core physical skills may be setting them up for a lifetime of academic failure.   

There is no need to drill a PE coach on the benefits of repetitive exercise. Routinely practising fundamental skills to the point of mastery is the cornerstone of excellence in a sporting discipline. But what if this was the cornerstone of classroom excellence too? The results of the STEP Pilot Study have recently been published and there is now a very strong case to argue that physical literacy skills should be included in primary school children’s individual learning plans.

Over a hundred 7-13 year old children took part in the study completing the STEP Programme across 2015/16. Focusing on the core skills of balance, eye-tracking and coordination, what makes it unique is that it is personalised to each pupil. Every school day the online platform delivers 2 new exercises for a pupil to complete at the beginning and end of the day which are then marked by the STEP coach, their score determining the exercises that will be generated the next day. Sessions last 10 minutes each and as a pupil embeds a skill they progress to a new level developing it further. For example, they may start off by learning to balance on one leg with their eyes open for 60 seconds and by the time they complete the Programme are standing on one leg with their eyes closed, balancing a beanbag on their head, snapping their fingers and naming their favourite football teams in alphabetical order.  Naturally their sporting ability improves but interestingly so do their school grades.

All the pupils involved in the Pilot Study were from the bottom 20% of the classroom and were considered to be below national expectations academically. Some of them had a SEN diagnosis such as dyslexia or ADHD but most were simply classed as underachieving. So, what was the impact of STEP on their classroom performance? Of the group 86% of them improved their reading levels to on or above expected standard. 75% moved out of the underachieving category in English and similar results were shown for maths and spelling. As an improvement strategy for a school, it ticks all the boxes.

Teachers reported major improvements in classroom behaviour. Pupils who hadn’t been able to sit still for the duration of a lesson were focused and engaged, no longer trying avoidance strategies to combat the cycle of failure they had been trapped in within the classroom. They were interacting more successfully with their peers and had left the can’t do attitude behind. 94% of pupils said they found their schoolwork easier and this was supported by their teachers and parents.

The Pilot pupils were all measured physically at various points during the trial. Coordination improved by an average of 50% per child and balance by 38%. The physical changes were enhancing cognitive function at an even higher rate. The core exercises were all designed to stimulate the cerebellum, the brain’s skill centre, responsible for automating tasks such as riding a bike, tying shoelaces or catching a ball. When it functions efficiently it allows the cerebrum, responsible for thinking, to work more effectively.

The link between sport and academic success has now been proven. In the UK, the independently conducted Pilot Study was overseen by IAPS - scrutinised by their Education Committee under the leadership of Education Director Mark Brotherton, a former PE teacher and innovative headmaster. Many of the schools involved were independent prep schools where pupils have access to a much greater amount of sport and excellent facilities. Contrast this with the data from the 30 districts in the State of Mississippi that have been implementing STEP for the last 2 years. They have some of the poorest attainment rates in the US and yet the Programme produced the same improvement outcomes. Socioeconomic background does not affect STEP’s ability to impact on learning.

STEP is on a mission, campaigning to see personalised physical literacy embedded in the curriculum for Y3 and Y4. Next time you are faced with a staff meeting that is focussed on improving school achievement levels, consider, 20 minutes of PE a day could well present the solution to closing the learning gap.

For more information visit www.STEPtoday.com

Kenny Logan has 70 caps for Scotland, where he played on the wind. He is a champion of physical literacy. He struggled at school, particularly with reading. After completing a physical literacy programme in his 30’s he began to notice a significant improvement in his cognitive skills as well as in his game. Kenny is now a champion for physical literacy across the UK.